Thursday, October 31, 2019

Do the Right Thing – Part 1

Fall Creek Falls, Tennessee - looking up at the top of the falls it looks like a lady and her skirt is the falls. So beautiful.

This week Michael writes that we have a moment by moment decision to do “the right thing”. In these memorable moments we find out what we're really made of and like. These are life incidents that reveal our true heart. The word “right” in morals and religion is defined as: just; equitable; accordant to the standard of truth and justice or the will of God. That alone is right in the sight of God, which is consonant to his will or law; this being the only perfect standard of truth and justice. People often feel inadequate and unworthy on spiritual turf. However, God has given us His Holy Spirit so that we can walk in His righteousness to do the right thing. 


After Pentecost, there was a great revival in the early Church. In Acts 3 Peter and John passed by a lame man asking for alms at the gate of the temple. In Acts 3:6 Peter said to him, "silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I thee, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, stand up and walk." The man leaped up praising God. The people of the town knew this man who was lame from birth. They were astounded at this miracle.  The crowd flocked around Peter and John. Peter delivered an inspired message about salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone after.

We're encouraged to keep our minds in the Word of God. There are several ways to allow the Word of God to renew our hearts and minds. One is by hearingRomans 10:17 says, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." The second way is by reading. Those hungry for the Word of God take notes and review them faithfully. Writing and review put the Scriptures to memory. The third way is by studying. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” A workman of “the Word” is not ashamed of his workmanship by rightly dividing or correctly handling of the Word of truth. The third way is by memorizing holy Scripture. The fourth and final way of growing in the Word is by meditating on it. Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”

Memorizing Holy Scripture is a discipline. Jesus said, "if you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." A disciple is a disciplined follower. 1 Corinthians says, bad company corrupts good morals. You're most like the ones you spend time with. Jesus had an intimate circle of three: Peter James, and John. In Acts 3, the town’s people knew Peter was a lowly Galilean fisherman.  hen they took note that he had been with Jesus. God gives us opportunities to "put one on the scoreboard for Christ."  He has made us able ministers of the New Testament. The story of Peter and John continues In Acts 4:1-3 “As they spoke to the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.

In Matthew 5:11-12a, Jesus said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.”  Most people fear the sneer. The fear of people will make cowards out of men and women who nominally claim to be followers of Christ. God encourages us to make decisions based on faith instead of fear. God never honors fear ... He always honors faith. Faith-based decisions will honor God and make an impact in your testimony for the Lord. 

2 Timothy 3:1-8 is a description of people in the last days: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

Let's continue Michael's message on "Righteousness" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The History of Halloween


Matthew 15:3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?

I posted this message a couple years ago, but I think about it every year at this time, so let's revisit it. It's that important! 
Tomorrow, we celebrate Halloween dressing up in costumes, going to parties, playing games and “trick or treating” for the little kids. But when I ask people what is the significance of the day and what exactly are we celebrating on this “second most popular” holiday in the United States of America?, the answer always seems to be the same: “I don’t really know.” Let's take a look at what it truly means.

I've listened to a couple Pastors this week explain that there is a confluence of three streams that flow together to form this modern celebration. The first goes back to the Druids, who were the pagan inhabitants of pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland. The Druid or Celtic year began on November 1, which was called “Samhain”. This was their New Year’s day, and consequently, October 31 was “New Year’s Eve”. It was also a combination of a “Harvest Festival” and thought of as a “Festival of the Dead”, for it was said that it was this night that the Earth came to its closest contact with the unseen and spiritual world. Consequently, ghosts, goblins and witches terrified the populous, supposedly destroying crops, killing babies, stealing farm animals, upsetting garbage cans and reeking all sorts of havoc on the people. Bon fires were set upon the hills, either to keep the ghosts away, or perhaps to guide the spirits of the dead back to their homes, where it was believed that the spirits of the deceased on the eve of Samhain find warmth and good cheer in the home of their kinfolk before the onslaught of winter. Therefore, we see a lot of the folk custom of Halloween has come from this Druid celebration.

Another one of them is the custom of “Trick or Treat”. It originated when the people of Ireland went around to homes asking for various treats for the celebration which was to follow later in the evening. Then, when the belief in the reality of goblins and ghosts began to decline, and it was no longer believed that they were really doing these mischievous things, the children decided to help out. So they dressed up in various costumes and put on masks, then went house to house asking for treats, but adding a little something extra … threatening also tricks if they failed to be generous. And so, there were garbage cans upset, gate posts found in trees, and all sorts of pandemonium that took place on that night, supposedly attributed to the ghosts and goblins, but, of course, wrought by the dressed up children.

Deuteronomy 18:9-11 “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.”


The second stream that flows into the modern celebration of Halloween comes from Central Europe, when the Christian church made its attack upon the pagan bastions, destroying the temples of the various heathen gods and goddesses. But it was never able to completely eradicate the pagan worship which reappeared in the “Dark Ages” in the form of witchcraft. One of the important aspects of witchcraft are a number of celebrations each year, which are called “Witch’s Sabbaths”. One of the highest witch’s Sabbaths, the “Black Sabbath” of witches, occurred on October 31. This was a night of feasting and revelry, and imagery includes themes of death, evil, the occult, black cats, bats, mythical monsters and other related Halloween paraphernalia. The source of much of our Halloween folklore today stems from the high witch’s Black Sabbath of October 31 celebrated in Central Europe in the Middle Ages.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.

The third stream that completes the modern concept of Halloween comes from the Roman Catholic Church. The church was engaged had been engaged in appointing certain days to honor and reverence certain Saints that the church had appointed or declared. There had become so many of these days that it became impossible to have a specific day for each Saint, so they decided to have one day in which they would remember all of the Saints, called “All Saints Day”. In the 700’s A.D., Pope Gregory III changed the date if “All Saints Day” to November 1, and in the year 834 A.D., Pope Gregory IV extended this celebration to the entire Roman Catholic Church. There was a celebration associated with this, on the evening before called “All-Hallows-Mas” or “All-Hallows-Even” on October 31 and it is from these two words that we have the contraction “Halloween”.

Here you see the three-fold origin of the celebration of Halloween. Are you still excited to celebrate this holiday? Well, unrelated, on October 31, 1517 @ noon in Wittenberg,

Germany, a young professor of Theology by the name of Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the University door that sprung into existence the Protestant Reformation and churches. So October 31 is the birthday of Protestantism and the Evangelical faith. Saved by grace alone, saved by faith alone, saved by Christ alone. Now that’s no trick, but the greatest treat of all.

In Christ, Brian

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

God and State



Amos 2:1 “Thus says the Lord: ‘For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.’ ”

Our Wednesday evening Small Group Bible Study is currently watching and discussing patriotism for the American Christian. In research, I read that the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution forbids the federal government from establishing a particular church as the official religion of the nation. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” – Bill of Rights First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Over time, this principle of disestablishment has come to be known on the popular level and in the language of U.S. courts as the “separation of church and state.” In many ways, it has served the country well, for it has tended to keep the federal government from getting involved with theological disputes between Christian denominations, church discipline issues, and other matters that God has not given to the state to address and that the state is not competent to assess.

The United States Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776. “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Since the first half of the twentieth century, however, this principle of separation of church and state has often been stretched in ways that the founding fathers of the United States did not intend. State and federal courts have often interpreted the disestablishment clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution as requiring the removal of all mention of religion from public life. The effect has been to enforce a kind of militant secularism that says no religious group has the right to have a say in how the nation is governed. In sum, the courts have moved from the separation of church and state to the separation of God and state.

The United States of America National Motto – “In God We Trust

We have seen that sovereign God has created a division of labor between church and state, assigning each entity specific tasks not given to the other. However, this in no way means that the Lord wants His church to be silent with respect to civil issues. Throughout Scripture, we find believers addressing state officials, praising them when they do what is right and condemning them when they do what is wrong. Often, this takes the form of the Jewish prophets’ confronting the Jewish theocracy of the Old Testament, but such is not always the case. In Amos 2:1, for example, Amos addresses Moab and condemns the nation not for breaking the ceremonial laws in the Mosaic legal code but for violating assumed, universal moral norms. Amos spoke as the conscience of the state against the state’s evil practices.

Following in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets, the church is to fulfill the role of the state’s conscience. We do not look for the state to establish one church, but we do look for it to be accountable to God’s standards and moral norms. When the state is not doing its duty to uphold justice, the church is called to exhort the state to do its job.

How Christians and churches live out their roles as prophetic voices in the civic process is a matter of some complexity. One thing is clear, however, and that is that believers cannot be silent when the innocent are killed, sexual immorality is promoted by the government, legal verdicts are politically driven, and other matters. The church must be light and call the state to act justly whenever it is failing to do so.

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Fire of God



Hebrews 12:29 “For our God is a consuming fire.”

Today, I’d like to share a devotional on the fire of God that I found. Fire was considered by certain of the ancient pantheistic philosophers to have been the primeval element out of which all things had evolved, and this same myth is promulgated today by evolutionary cosmogonists in the form of their “Big Bang” theory. The fact is, however, that fire is a creation of God used both actually and symbolically as God’s vehicle of judgment on sin.

It is significant that both the first and last references to fire in the Bible mention both fire and brimstone used in flaming judgment on human rebellion against God. First, “the God rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven”. And finally, “the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

Hebrews 12:29 is a reference to Moses’ words to the tribes of Israel as they were preparing to enter the promised land after his death. Warning them against corrupting their faith through idolatry, he said: “For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24). Its New Testament context is a grave warning against rejecting God’s Word: “See that ye refuse not him that speaks. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaks from heaven” (Hebrews 12:25).

In a sense, God’s Word is also God’s fire. Jeremiah 20:9  says, “His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay”. It is better to be refined with the fire of God’s Word than to be consumed by His judgment fire. 

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Friends - Part 3


Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Continuing Pastor Obie’s message on “godly friendships”, he presented four “relational nutrients” we all need to have healthy relationships in life. (1) Be present. We need to meet face-to-face frequently; not Facebook-to-Facebook. Social media doesn’t count in relationships. Physical time together builds trust. Only two close friends is the average today verses six close friends 50 years ago. One in four people statistically have only one close friend. Studies show that suicide and depression have a direct correlation with excessive Social Media exposure and interaction. We need acceptance, empathy, validation from friends and a safe place to vent our frustrations with someone who can keep a secret; not gossip. The face-to-face times happen best at (a) the table, where you share a meal together, (b) on a ride-along drive, (c) while doing tasks together, or (d) during recreation time, playing or being spectators.

Romans 1:12 “When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.”

The second “relational nutrients” we all need to have healthy relationships in life is (2) convey the good. Be positive, comforting and encouraging; not negative. Be an uplifting breath of fresh air to your friends. People need affirmation, encouragement, respect, hope, and forgiveness. Forgiveness and healing are different, but tied together. Forgiveness is a choice that opens the door to God’s mercy and provides the path to healing. Romans 15:2 “We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.” Friends need to be celebrated for their wins and victories. Celebrating brings people together and makes them want to repeat the wins. Being present and conveying the good produces trust that must be established before the third nutrients can be accepted.

Proverbs 27:5-6 “Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

The third “relational nutrients” we all need to have healthy relationships in life is (3) provide reality. Truth must be communicated at the right time and in the right way. Men are fixers and woman are feelers. Validate how others feel because they don’t care what you know until they know that you care. It doesn’t matter if you are right, if you do not communicate rightly. When delivered rightly, Proverbs 24:26 says, “An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.” Sometimes, just listening and validating the other’s feelings are all that needs to happen. Let them know that what they are feeling is important, knowing that the truth can be hard to hear but necessary for their future from a person that you give permission to speak that loving truth in your life. Do you have someone you love and care about enough to tell them the harsh realities that needs to be said.   

Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”

The fourth “relational nutrients” we all need to have healthy relationships in life is (4) a call to action. Your best friends should bring out the best in you. Identify and set “stretch goals” that build faith, leadership and character met with deadlines and accountability. What areas of your life do you need stretching in?  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 tells us, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But, woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Surround yourself with people who call you to action, challenge you and help make you more Christ-like and be more fruitful for the kingdom of Heaven. Be vessels of God’s love to others. Grow and mature to be all that God calls you to be. Once you needed a friend. Today, there is a friend that needs you.


In Christ, Brian


Saturday, October 26, 2019

Friends – Part 2


St. Mary Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana

 

John 15:14-16 “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”

Pastor Obie continued his Sunday sermon message on godly friendships by highlighting the second of Jesus’ models of friendship in “knowing and being known”. John 2:24-25 tells us that “Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” Jesus knows His disciples (students/followers/friends). The Hebrew word for friend is “soad”, which translates to “those who know”. But, this involve investing time with friends.

1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.”

Yet, choose who you spend time with careful because, good or bad, you become like those are associate with on a regular basis. Proverbs 13:20 tells us, “He who walks [as a companion] with wise men will be wise, but the companions of [conceited, dull-witted] fools [are fools themselves and] will experience harm.” Some people have bad friends that they keep bringing back into their lives. Psalm 1:1-2 states, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Investing quality and quantity time in friends means being there when needed, having their back and being a faithful confidant. Philippians 2:4 affirms, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

The Lord modeled that vulnerability is the pathway to intimacy. The key to friendship is to be authentic and real. Intimate relationships are rare and priceless in this superficial world. In our relationships with friends and the church body, 1 Corinthians 12:26 rings true that “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” Do not tell everything to everybody, but do have someone in your life that you can confidently tell anything to. Proverbs 11:13 “A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.” We are fully known and fully loved by God. Jesus modeled friendship for us and there is no true intimacy without vulnerability. We would be lucky and blessed if we could have five true close friends in our life. They require dedication, devotion and a heart’s desire for loving intimacy and caring discretion. Isn’t that what we are all looking for anyway?

Let’s conclude Pastor Obie message on godly friendship in the next post.
In Christ, Brian

Friday, October 25, 2019

Friends – Part 1


Yoyo

John 15:12-17 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.”

This last Sunday, Pastor Obie continued in our church sermon series through the Gospel of John, stating that Creator God designed and hard-wired the human condition of friendship, making you and I for healthy relationships in life. Our triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) exist in perfect unity. Genesis 2:18 tells us that in the sixth day of Creation, the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” There are personalities of introverts, extroverts and everyone in between, but there is a deficiency in our humanity when we are alone. Isolation (no one to connect with) affects our physical health and a lack of relationships affects our psychological health. We are created in the image of God and, ultimately, our loving relationship with our heavenly Father is first and foremost, fundamental and foundational in life. But, our human relationships keep us alive, giving us purpose and strength in community for positive life results.

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

It is a Commandment of God for us to “love one another”. Jesus stated this three times in the gospel and modeled love for us. Love and be loved. The four Greek words for love are agape, phileo, eros and storge. The first Greek word for "love" we need to examine is phileo, which means "to have a special interest in someone, frequently with focus on close association; have affection for, like, consider someone a friend." The word phileo implies a strong emotional connection, and thus is used of the "love," or deep friendship, between friends. Phileo is brotherly love and is conditional because it is dependent upon feelings. The second Greek word that refers to the love of God, one of the kinds of love we are to have for people, is agape. Agape is the very nature of God, for God is love. The big key to understanding agape is to realize that it can be known from the action it prompts. Agape is unconditional love that is a choice. It is not based upon feelings or circumstances, but on commitment. It is sacrificial love, where we die to self for others and put their needs before our needs. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so (agape) loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Romans 5:8 confirms, “God demonstrates His own (agape) love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Greater (agape) love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord modeled “agape” love (the love of God) for us.

Let's continue Pastor Obie's message on godly friendship in the next post.
In Christ, Brian


Thursday, October 24, 2019

Pray for Civil Authorities



1 Timothy 2:1–2 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

I’ve been continuing through a small Bible Study on the biblical definition and life application of “Authority” in life. This lesson points out that God’s establishment of a division of labor between the church and state raises some issues that we should address before moving on to what believers are to do when the state has turned wicked. We have already looked at the Christian’s duty to obey the earthly authorities whenever they do not forbid what the Lord commands or command what He forbids. But aside from general obedience, are there other specific duties that we are obligated to render to the civil magistrate? And since the church has one job and the state has another, does this mean that Christians cannot speak to the government or serve as state officials?

Romans 13:1-7 “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.”

1 Timothy 2:1-2 gives us one important and often neglected duty that all Christians are obligated to perform in service to the state. Paul explains that believers must pray for kings and all those in “high positions”. We would not be far off the mark to suggest that this duty to pray for the civil authorities, given to us by the Lord, is one of the most important ways we can serve those who govern our nations, states, and cities. Given the sorry state of the world around us, we are quick to complain when political leaders are failing at their jobs or promoting injustice. Certainly, we should raise our voices when we confront such problems; however, it is not enough for us merely to protest. We must also pray. God wants us to pray for our leaders, even the leaders for whom we have not voted, that they may rule in such a way that Christians are able to lead godly, quiet, and dignified lives. Essentially, we want the state to have the wisdom not to put onerous (heavy) burdens on believers and to leave the church alone to do its job. When the state refrains from interfering with the church and the church can easily do its job of preaching the gospel, the whole society ultimately benefits, so to pray for the state to respect religion and leave us alone is also to pray for the good of the culture.

Christians must pray for the state and respect the Lord’s choice to give the sword to the civil authorities, not the church, but that in no way means that believers cannot work in government service. In fact, Scripture gives us examples of people such as Daniel and Joseph who were believers and yet held high positions in secular, even pagan, governments. Believers who are gifted for civil service should pursue that as their vocation, as long as working for the government will not cause them to violate God’s law. It is easy to grumble and complain about our civil leaders and then stop there. But God would have us not merely speak up when the government acts unjustly; rather, He calls us also to pray for our leaders. Let us regularly pray for our leaders, even those leaders whom we have not chosen.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Quick and the Dead – Part 2

Фотографія


Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

Michael continues that before we were “born again” of God's spiritual nature, we walked according to the course of this world, the spirit that works in the children of disobedience.  We are no longer children of wrath. Through the price Jesus paid on our behalf on the Cross, we have been made the righteousness of God in him.  Even though we slip and fall out of fellowship with our Lord, 1 John 1:9 says, "if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

A hard taskmaster is a slave driver who has no mercy and no grace. The wages of sin is death. Sin deserves a righteous judgment of death.  However, God is rich in mercy and great in love. He has made us alive according to His grace.  We're righteous not because of our own sin nature of the flesh but because Jesus Christ who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Romans 6:14-16 “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

The Jews thought that they were righteous in their own works. Do we too? They believed that they were righteous because they kept the Old Testament law. Do we because we do “good” things? They knew that unto them were given the oracles (revelations and prophesies) of God. They knew that they were God's chosen people and that their lineage had been blessed through God's promise to Abraham. They thought that they were destined for eternal life as God’s chosen people but everyone else was condemned to death.  However Jesus came to set the captives of sin free.  According to Galatians 8:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

According to Romans 5:8, “in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly.” God has made all Believers alive according to His grace that flows from His mercy and has seated us in heavenly places in Christ; Children of God and citizen of Heaven. Our redemption and salvation is for God's own glory: That he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

The conclusion is in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.  For we are his workmanship, (His great work, His magnum opus, His Masterpiece) created in Christ Jesus unto good works which he has foreordained that we should walk in it. Believers who have been born again” by the Holy Spirit have been made a new creation in Christ. And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

He has quickened us together in Christ so that we would be to the praise of the glory of His grace! Know it, understand it and live it out daily in gratitude and love.
Your brother in Christ, Michael

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Quick and The Dead – Part 1



This week, Michael asks, What is our greatest struggle?  Is it our marriage, our work, our finances, our relationships with our family? The bible says, in this world we will have tribulation. But be not dismayed, Jesus said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

The battle is not against others or against circumstances. The battle is a “spiritual battle”, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness from on high. The battle is for our hearts and lives. As men and women of God, we have been called to be counter-secular-cultural. We're in, but not of this sinful world: this is not our home. From God's perspective, we're already seated in heavenly places with Christ as citizens of Heaven.

Romans 8:33-39 “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The church in Ephesians battled the guilt and condemnation of this world.  According to Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

When we accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we were "quickened", we were made alive in Christ. Our spirit is regenerated and we're no longer dead in our sin nature. We're no longer tied to a “dead in sin” body. Paul exclaimed in Romans 7:24, "O wretched man that I am.  Who shall deliver me from this dead body?" This is a picture of one of the worst forms of capital punishment. The executioner would strap a dead body to the condemned man to rot with the decaying body on his back. Paul cried as he struggled to do the right thing, "who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

The answer is in Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.  For The law of the spirit of life in Christ has made me free from the law of sin and death." 

We have a moment by moment choice to walk after the desires of our flesh nature we inherited form Adam or the walk in our spirit nature of Christ that we inherited from God when we were born again.


Let's continue Michael's message on the Quick and the Dead in the next post.
In Christ, Brian

Monday, October 21, 2019

Church and State


Acts 25:11 “If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar”.

Having noted that the Old Testament suggests a division of labor between the church and state, and having seen that the New Testament explicitly gives the use of the sword to the state, it is now time for us to consider the church-state relationship more closely. To be sure, this can be a complicated issue, but there are conclusions we can draw based on the New Testament’s division of labor and how the Apostles interacted with the pagan state of Rome.

The Westminster Confession of Faith of 1847 tells us, “It is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the church of our common Lord, without giving the preference to any denomination of Christians above the rest, in such a manner that all ecclesiastical persons whatever shall enjoy the full, free, and unquestioned liberty of discharging every part of their sacred functions, without violence or danger”. Here we find a logical conclusion from the state’s duty to bear the sword, for if the state is to punish evildoers, our churches may reasonably expect the state to respond when thieves, slanderers, murderers, and others attack churches and Christians. In other words, it is not wrong for the church to appeal to the state in matters of common justice. Within the church, however, 1 Corinthians 6:1–8 states that Christians should strive to settle disagreements between one another without involving the state insofar as their arguments do not involve matters related to civic crimes and the common good. That Christians may legitimately appeal to the state for protection and for justice is seen in Acts 25:1–12, where Paul exercises his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to the emperor to hear his case. Of course, any time we appeal to the state, we risk the state’s getting too involved in religious matters, so we must be wise in our dealings with the civil magistrate. Still, the state does have as its duty the protection of all its citizens, even the church and its members.

The state should not prefer one denomination of Christians above others. There should be no state-established and state-run church, for this would violate the church-state division of labor. Christ gives to the church alone the power to discipline, to bind and loose in spiritual matters. A state that prefers one denomination over another has made a theological judgment it is not called to make. America’s Founders strongly believed that there should be no national church denomination, as they had experienced in England.

The phrase “separation of Church and State” cannot be found in the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. In fact, it is not found in any of our nation’s founding documents. Related to government, the phrase first appeared in a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut in 1801.The Danbury Baptists wrote Thomas Jefferson expressing their concern that the government might try to regulate their religious expression. In response, Jefferson wrote his now famous letter, using the phrase “Separation of Church and State” to reassure the Danbury Baptists that the First Amendment prohibited the government from trying to control religious expression. In short, the First Amendment was intended to keep government out of regulating religion, but it did not keep religion out of government or the public square. They codified this belief in the First Amendment, keeping the federal government out of the affairs of the church, and of its members. But in recent decades, this idea has been twisted into the so-called “separation of church and state,” a phrase that appears nowhere in the United States Constitution. Anytime you hear the concept of the separation of church and state being talked about these days, it is never in regard to maintaining the restraints on government; instead, it is always talking about what Christians and churches cannot do.



Sunday, October 20, 2019

Abide Right Here – Part 3

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Galatians 5:1, 16-18 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Concluding Pastor Kyle's message on abiding in Christ, he states that on  this side of heaven, fallen humanity can expect spiritual battles, but there are two types of spiritual fruit God wants to see in every Christian. (1) The Fruit of obedience. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” God said in Exodus 19:5 “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is  Mine.” (2) The fruitfulness in the kingdom. Philippians 2:12-13 says, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” 2 John 6 explains, “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”

John 15:9-11 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Three rules in Spiritual Gardening 101, (A) If you’re disconnected from the church, get reconnected. If you’re connected, remain connected by abiding in Christ. Like in a vineyard, actual vine growth requires an outside support structure – the church. Hebrews 10:25 says, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another.” Some people stop coming to church, some come back and get reconnected. The Christian church is the body of Christ with Jesus as the head. The congregation is people connected with the Lord, their God, in order to bare more fruit in kingdom work. In talking about the church body of Believers, the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.” God does not want us to grow alone, but connected to Jesus (the Vine), working with fellow faithful followers, pruned and dressed for maximum fruitfulness and growth.

Galatians 5:22-25 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

If it hurts when the unfruitful areas of our lives was cut out, then it very well might have been God doing the trimming for the dressing of the vine. We do not have surgery performed on ourselves for fun, but because we need to cut off or cut out something that doesn’t need to be in our body, in order to repair and increase productivity in an active life. The end result of pruning is always more fruit and joy. The divine ax is not at the root of the child of God, but there are pruning sheers at the deadwood in our lives. Abide in the vine and thrive.


In Christ, Brian


Saturday, October 19, 2019

Abide Right Here – Part 2


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John 15:5-8 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

Continuing Pastor Kyle’s message about the vine and the branches, he proclaims that Almighty God created everything, owns, has authority and sustains all; He is the vinedresser. Good gardeners constantly prune their vines with expert knowledge and precision to produce as much fruit as possible. A garden is different than a jungle. In a jungle, all vegetation growth is good. But, an organized garden must be pruned and properly dressed for maximum fruitful production to take place.

Job 1:21 says, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Sometimes, God (our vinedresser) cuts off things in our life that are overgrown and counter-productive. These pruning times may seem too much and ugly, but we must trust the Gardener, the Lord. He pulls the weeds robbing nutrients, trims off unproductive areas, and re-supports the branches to be more productive, while throwing the dead wood into the bonfire to consume. The Holy Spirit takes out the trash. Bottom line: It’s not about losing your salvation, but pruning.

Jesus explains about those who do not abide with Him in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Jesus explains how this happens in a parable in Mark 4:14-19 “The Sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

The Apostle John reinforces this in 1 John 2:19, They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” In this case, the seed and root of faith never took hold in the heart. They didn’t change and lose their salvation; they never really had it. True Christians cannot lose their salvation, but can lose their fruitfulness for the kingdom of Heaven. In a pattern of disconnection, the disciple is not being useful to the work of the Lord and that unproductive area of the branch shall be pruned, removed and thrown away so that new growth may occur and good fruit for the kingdom generated, accomplishing results with positive, prolific and fruitful eternal consequences.


Let's finish Pastor Kyle's message on abiding in Christ in the next post.
In Christ, Brian

Friday, October 18, 2019

Abide Right Here – Part 1


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John 15:1-4 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

This last Sunday, Pastor Kyle continued in on Sunday Sermon series through the Gospel of John with the beloved chapter 15 allegoric passage about the Lord Jesus being the vine and Believers being the branches. As long as we are connected to the Lord, our God, we are safe. When we wonder and get separated is when we get in trouble. He is close to you; stay close to God. We tend to think of ourselves as the vine or the trunk that is solidly rooted and grounded, but in reality, we are the branches that bear fruit and grow from the true vine (Jesus Christ) and is the connection to life. Creator Father God is the Landlord, the Farmer that planted the Vineyard and tends to the Creation, the vinedresser. Because Jesus is the vine, we have a relationship with the vinedresser, our heavenly Father.

The most important word for you from Jesus’ vine and the branches teaching is “abide” (μένω) Greek – menō, meaning to stay in a given state, relation or expectancy. Abide in this passage is used of “remain in place” literally and metaphorically of “In Christ”. Our home is said to be our “humble abode”, our dwelling place, the place that we abide, a safe place to grow; we live there. Jesus uses the term “abide eleven times in these eleven verses, so it is a vitally important that we make room and live in Christ. With all of the modern electronics and applications in this digital world today (texting, Facebook posts, Tweeter, Instagram, etc.), so many are connected without really having a connection to anyone, creating shallow relationships. Studies show that because of this non-relational communication where interpersonal bonds are becoming just an association where people seldom talk and are having a harder time carrying on a meaningful face-to-face conversation. What is an abiding friend any more?   

1 John 2:24-25 says, “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.  And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.”

What our Savior Jesus was saying is abiding in the Lord means to leave all else, follow and dwell, live and rest in Him, as a disciple, student, follower and brother or sister in the kingdom of God. Jesus is our primary home. The modern concept of “the third space” has been used as a socio-cultural term to designate communal space, as distinct from the home (first space) or work (second space) where the individual can experience a transformative sense of self, identity and relation to others. Create communal space to abide in Christ. Christianity is not what you do, but who you are because of whose you are. We are a child of God; a citizen of Heaven. This world and earthly existence is not our home; Heaven is the Christian’s home. 2 John 9 “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.” Abide in the Son and in the Father.

Let's continue Pastor Kyle's message on "abiding in Christ" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Fear the Lord – Part 2



Continuing Michael's message on the "Fear of the Lord", he points out that in the conversion of Roman African, early Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher from Numidia - Saint Augustine of Hippo, he said that after he had come to Christ, the prostitute that he had frequented saw him and called out to him, "Augie, it's me."  Augustine's reply was, "but it's no longer me.  I'm no longer the man that I was."  When we're redeemed, God has made us a new creation. However, the renewing of the mind according to our new nature is the result of deliberate and intentional action. According to Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto him which is your reasonable act of worship.  And be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

The key to walking in fellowship is to renew our minds according to the truth of the Word of God.  The Word says of itself, “meditate upon these things”. Commit thyself wholly to them that thy profiting may appear unto all.  According to Philippians 4:8, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. 

Jeremiah 1:5-9 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Then said I: “Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.”

God said to Jeremiah, Don't say that you can't speak because I'll do the speaking through you, I'll put my words in your mouth. We all have a testimony. A testimony is the declaration of a witness, and evidence is the effect of that declaration on the mind, or the degree of light which it affords. Testimony is an affirmation; declaration. An open attestation; a profession. Christians have all had a life changing encounter with the risen Christ.  He has made us able ministers of the New Testament.  He has made us worthy of His testimony and we're the only bible that some people will ever read. The Lord has given us grace to walk in His strength that we would reflect His glory.

Bible Commentator Matthew Henry said that many a man and woman recognizes that their worst handicap is their own self. By grace God has given us the gift of His Holy Spirit. Therefore I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me, and the life that I now live I live by the faith of Him who loved me and gave Himself for me.

The liberty that we have in Christ is the work of the kingdom of Heaven and to serve one another in love. According to Proverbs, a person's gift makes room for Jesus and brings Him before great men. We're called to deliver the message of the gospel of salvation through Christ. We're called to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" ... to realize our incompleteness and to realize God's wholeness, with meekness and fear, awe, respect, and love. For it is God who works in you to will and to do of his good pleasure.

We're most like the people we spend time with. We gather together with likeminded men and women so that we can build each other up. According to 1 Corinthians 15:33, bad company corrupts good morals.  Therefore as Psalm 1:1-3 says..... “Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Israel’s King Solomon, was known for his wisdom. At the end of his discussion of the duty of mankind in the book of Ecclesiastes 12:13, he wrote by inspiration:  “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” As we fear God by loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, may we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Fear the Lord – Part 1



This week, Michael writes how Jesus Christ came to set the captives free. In John 8:31-32, He said to the Jews that believed on Him, "If you continue in my word, he shall be my disciples indeed.  And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." The worst prisons are the prisons in our own minds. Because of the sin nature that we inherited from Adam, we are held captive by sin, fear, guilt and condemnation. However, according to 1 John 4, there is no fear in love for perfect love casts out fear

There was a man who thought that he should be doing better in life. He was struggling with his spiritual self image.  When asked, "What do you think that God thinks of you?", the guy's mind went blank and he couldn't think of a response to the question. Everyone struggles with fear and guilt sometime. There are two types of fear. One is the fear that is the opposite of faith. The other is the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is characterized by reverence, awe, respect and honor. Walking in “the fear of the Lord” is to love God to the point that we fear not honoring Him. Many people think that they should fear and honor God, but they don't think that God loves them. The devil's scheme is to get us to question the love of God. As David said in Psalm 139:23, "Search me O God and try me to see if there if there is any evil way in me.  Cleanse me and create in me a new heart O God.”  The fear of the Lord involves our ability to sense His presence and His love.

Men and women often feel unworthy. In our own power we can never love enough, give enough, serve enough or perform enough. Most people fear the handwriting on the wall that said, "thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting."  You're never good enough, righteous enough or rich enough, wise enough or strong enough. We all have a problem with sin, of missing the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  However, God made a way where there was no way. For Jesus Christ who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

American pastor, Bible teacher, conference speaker and a prolific writer of Christian literature and theological works - Warren Wiersbe said that the fear of God is a fear that makes us want to serve Him from a heart of love. Serving God is not what we've got to do but what we get to do. God knows our heart's desire to love Him above all. According to 1 John, even though our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things. As we come into the light of His holy Word through his love, the darkness of sin fades into the background. According to John 3:19-21, he that walks in darkness hates the light neither come to the light lest his deeds should be reproved.  But he that does truth comes to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought of God.

Christians have two natures. One is the carnal nature of the flesh, the sinful nature of sin and death that we inherited from Adam. The other is the nature of the spirit of life in Christ, the righteous nature that we inherited when we were born again of God's Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul said in Galatians 5:17, the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would.  Romans 7:24 says, "What I want to do I don't do and what I don't want to do, I do.  O wretched man that I am.  Who shall deliver me from this dead body?"  Paul used this picture of one of the worst forms of capital punishment to illustrate the war between our spiritual nature and our carnal nature. As punishment for a terrible crime, the executioner would strap a dead body to the convict who would rot to death with the dead body on his back. Who shall deliver me from this dead body? The answer is in Romans 8:1-2, Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I am made the righteousness of God in him.  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus... For the law of the spirit of life in Christ has made me free from the law of sin and death.


Let's continue Michael's message on the "Fear of the Lord" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Tune in to the Holy Spirit – Part 4


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1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

(2) Desire to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Just as we must covet, look and see God’s unmistakable handiwork in amazing nature, we must yearn for and make a conscious effort to hear the Counselor comforting word in our life. Dedication and devotion to the Lord stem from our desire for Him and the guiding Holy Spirit speaking into our lives. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in five ways. (a) The Holy Spirit speaks to us in Prayer, so say a prayer then be silent and listen. (b) The Holy Spirit speaks to us through His holy Bible. With affectionately read the Scriptures with adoring care as a “love letter” to you from God. (c) The Holy Spirit speaks to us through His people. God has placed specific people (Pastors, Bible Study group member, godly people, family, friends, co-workers and neighbors) around us in our lives for a purpose. With a discerning ear, listen for the Holy Spirit’s message for us being spoken through them. (d) The Holy Spirit speaks to us through life circumstances. Everything happens for a reason and coincidences are divine appointment orchestrated and controlled by God in the over-arching scheme of kingdom purposes. Sometimes we understand the message and lessons learned in hindsight, but listen for the meaning being communicated at the time. (e) The Holy Spirit speaks to us through impressions, visions and dreams. Take note of thoughts, visual images in the mind and vivid dreams with godly direction and instruction.

Matthew 6:6 “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
 
(3) Set a time and place to meet with God. Prayer is a conversation with your heavenly Father. It’s a time to simply, openly and honestly rest and focus in relationship that intentionally honors God. This devotional time is amazing for your soul. Find the time and make the time to spend with the Lord and be blessed. Christ paved the way of reconciliation and re-connection, so drive on it and have a two-way talk with the Lord. Make a prayer closet or any private and personal space free of distraction or interruption to pray. Keep a prayer journal to pen your thoughts, track and make future reference of God’s leading and the Holy Spirit guidance.

Hebrews 5:12-14 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

(4) Recognize the Holy Spirit by worshiping God, praying to God and reading the living Word of God. Each will speak to you clearly in a still, small voice to influence and lead you in paths of righteousness. There are many competing voice for our attention and demanding our time. It ends up being a cluster of distractions crowding our vision and creating chaos in our target goals for life. We need to minimize distractions and develop a filter that is honoring and edifying to God, so we can hear His voice above all else. How do we recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit in the group? (a) The Holy Spirit’s voice will always harmonize with the Word of God. (b) The Holy Spirit’s voice will make you more Christ-like. You will know the fruit by the root. (c) The Holy Spirit’s voice will ask for confirmation. We confirm His voice in our heart by the peace and confidence produced.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Be able to decipher what is the Holy Spirit’s voice. Silence the other voices causing distractions and chaotic confusion. Use fasting, being quiet before the Lord in prayer and worshiping to hear the Spirit’s voice and move your heart closer to God. God wants to speak to you today.

In Christ, Brian